The scene. The day ended, fittingly, with an apology - the member for Timmins-James Bay, Charlie Angus, asked to excuse himself for yelling "bull----" as the government's man on native affairs, Jim Prentice, attempted to explain his department's alleged inaction on some controversy or another.

Angus said he would indeed apologize for his language, but he would not apologize for the government's failings. This seemed reasonable, he being an NDP critic and therefore entirely unresponsible for the affairs of governing(and equally unlikely to ever be so).

Pity poor Charlie, though. In hindsight, that he was the only member made to apologize yesterday seems somewhat unjust.

A total of 28 questions had passed before Stéphane Dion rose for the fourth time. This immediately seemed a curious development and the House of Commons anxiously waited to see what the Liberal leader might be up to.

Speaking seriously and looking solemn, he gazed directly at Stephen Harper and asked that the Prime Minister dispatch his hapless defence minister, Gordon O'Connor.

Now, as they say, we were cooking with weapons-grade plutonium.

The honourable member for Carleton-Mississippi Mills(surely one of the federation's more fantastically named ridings)has been the subject of some consternation lately. Earlier this week he was forced to apologize for misleading the House and the opposition has been hot after him for apparent mismanagement of the Afghanistan file(something about a misplaced prisoner or two).

Still, you might think that as a)a former brigadier-general in the Canadian military and b)a 67-year-old man, O'Connor might inspire a degree of restraint in his critics. That our members of parliament, like most able-minded adults, might find it distasteful to pick on a senior citizen who once put country before self.

Of course, you would be rather mistaken.

Even before Dion's demand, the Defence Minister had been made to answer several questions from the opposition side - and with them came some altogether unapologetic catcalls from the dark recesses of the Liberal benches.

"You can't handle the truth!" shouted one member.

"Court marshall!" yelped another.

"Fire in the hole!" came one cry.

If you're going to mock a veteran, you might as well do it with the language of war. But O'Connor shrugged off these remarks and stuck to his script. Even when Dion demanded his resignation, he seemed thoroughly unmoved. Perhaps he's seen worse than the likes of Her Majesty's Official Opposition.

Inevitably, Dion repeated his demand. And with that, he pushed the Prime Minister to the precipice of his increasingly infamous temper.

"I can understand the passion that the Leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for Taliban prisoners," Harper shot back, the House falling silent. "I just wish occasionally they would show the same passion for Canadian soldiers."

Well then.

As Conservative members stood long and cheered, the Liberal front bench was frantic. Party whip Karen Redman tried desperately to quiet her backbench. Defence critic Denis Coderre jabbed his finger in the air, egging Dion to seek retribution. The leader looked positively besmirched. One minute you're making headlines with the demand that a high-profile minister resign, the next you're being branded a Taliban-sympathizer. Somewhere, Jack Layton empathized.

So up popped Dion once more, demanding the Prime Minister apologize for his insinuation. Harper refused - nothing ensures his royal highness won't apologize like a demand that he do so.

It was around this time that Charlie Angus started swearing. And the rest is pretty much a blur.

As the Speaker called an end to Question Period, Dion stood and dramatically threw his ear piece down, stomping off like a child who had been refused his dessert. The members opposite mocked him with a Bronx cheer. Coderre got up and began yelling at the Conservative side, thrusting his finger forward as Jason Kenney, the government's foremost champion of tolerance, motioned for him to cross the floor and have a go.

Coderre, ever a student of parliamentary decorum, decided not to take Kenney up on the offer. Which, if nothing else, left everyone with one less thing to apologize for tomorrow.

The stats.(A daily breakdown of the issues that dominated Question Period.)The budget, 16 questions. Afghanistan, nine questions. First Nations, six questions. Quebec and war medals, two questions each. International transportation, one question.

Joe Comuzzi footnote of the day. As Dion announced in the morning, Joe Comuzzi has been bounced from the Liberal caucus for refusing to vote against the federal budget. Comuzzi's seat, next to Ken Dryden on the front bench, was accordingly empty and the Conservatives serenaded Dion's first question of the day with cries of "Where's Joe?" and "We want Joe."

Romantic insinuation of the day. Mocking foreign affairs minister Peter McKay's diplomatic skills, Bloc MP Francine Lalonde mentioned U.S. secretary of state Condoleeza Rice as someone "the minister likes very much." McKay nodded pensively at this remark.

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